Three topics highlighted by the Think 20 are included in the Antalya Communique

T20 Turkey

17/11/2015

Internet. The word “Internet” was for the first time adopted in a Leaders Communiqué. Paragraph 26 included two important statements on internet technologies. First, it called for cooperation on cyber security, especially against attacks on businesses. Second, it called for broader access to the Internet, which is an important driver of economic development.

The T20’s studies had emphasized the effect of the Internet on economic development, cyber security and data protection. It argued that achieving the G20’s developmental goals required overcoming the digital divide. T20 held a special session on Internet economy at its Izmir Workshop in June, and recently published a policy note on Internet and the G20.

Technology. The G20 Leaders Communiqué included a new emphasis on the development of clean energy technologies. It stated that there would be investments and related research and development activities would be supported to this end.

Technology and innovation was one of the main priorities of the T20 that emphasized the contribution of new technologies to growth and sustainable development. In this context, the T20 organized a technology and innovation workshop in Berlin (read the workshop report here) and the Innovation20 (I20) Summit alongside the G20 leaders’ summit in Antalya .

Sovereign debt restructuring. The Leaders Communiqué included a call for a renewed effort for restructuring government debts. That there is a need for a new global architecture for resolving and restructuring sovereign debt issues came to the forefront of the global economic agenda with Argentina’s debt situation. The T20, in cooperation with Argentinian think tanks, produced a joint paper and recommended that international rules and standards be developed for the restructuring of government debts.

Other than these highlighted topics, Antalya Communique touches upon many issues discussed by the T20 this year, including global value chains, SMEs, role of multilateralism in trade and investment agreements, IMF quota reform, and fostering infrastructure investments. The refugee issues, first highlighted by Paul Martin in T20 Ottowa workshop in May have also been substantially discussed.